For it is impossible for those who
were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have
become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word
of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to
renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for
themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.For the earth which drinks in the
rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by
whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears
thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose
end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are confident of better
things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though
we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work
and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you
have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that
each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of
hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:4-12)

Few passages have had greater impact on
Arminian thinking than this fearful warning about falling away and
entering into such a spiritual state that it is impossible to be
renewed to repentance. Strict Calvinists have exercised ingenuity
in their attempts to maintain the doctrine of final perseverance in
the face of the seemingly plain statements confuting it in this
passage, their exegesis widely acknowledged as “theological” rather
than “exegetical.” Of these two positions the Arminian view is more
defensible; however, there is another option.

The Exhortation (6:1-3)

Therefore, leaving the discussion of
the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection
[maturity], not laying
again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith
toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of
resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will
do if God permits. (Hebrews 6:1-3)

The opening phrase “therefore” is best taken as
referring to the preceding verses (5:11-14) as a whole.

Of whom we have much to say, and hard
to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by
this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you
again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come
to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of
milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both
good and evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14)

Because of the reader’s spiritual dullness,
they need to commit themselves to learning and applying the truth
and to press on to maturity. They need to be able to distinguish
“good and evil,” and the author of this epistle wants them to move
from “milk” (receiving truth) to “solid food, (more in-depth truth
and its application).

In the midst of his discussion regarding the
Melchizedekian priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews
5:1-10) the author pauses to rebuke the readers for their
spiritual stupor (5:11-14), to exhort them to press on to
maturity (6:1, 2), to warn them about the danger of falling
away (6:4-6), to illustrate to them the danger with an
analogy from nature (6:7, 8), and to encourage them regarding
confidence in their spiritual status and their need to finish what
they have begun (6:9-12). He then returns to his main theme,
the priesthood (Melchizedekian) of Christ in chapter 7.

The apostle’s focus in this passage is for
these (true, not professing) Christians to grow to spiritual
maturity. They “ought to be teachers, “but they are “dull of
hearing,” i.e., slow to learn. They need “milk,” not “solid food.”
This is a frequent metaphor of Paul, who also contrasts “babes” (Gk.
nepios) with those who are mature (Gk. teleioi), such
as is found in 1 Corinthians 2:6; Galatians 4:3; and
Ephesians 4:13, 14. Like these other references in the New
Testament, the “babes” here are not non-Christians but “infant”
Christians who have refused to grow spiritually. The spiritual
“maturity” in view is the same as that described in the preceding
verse—not just spiritual understanding, i.e., advanced mental
perception, but it is experiential righteousness and spiritual
discernment (5:14).

The author is addressing Christians, since
non-Christians (professing Christians) cannot grow in their ability
to experientially apply the Word (Bible doctrine) to daily life and
have their spiritual senses trained in spiritual discernment. They
are to go beyond the foundation of repentance and the elementary
teachings about Christ and faith in God. He says, “And
this we will do if God permits.” What is it that we will
do, “God permitting,”? The antecedent of “this” cannot be “laying
again the foundation” because then the author would be
saying, “Let us go beyond the foundation, and we will lay the
foundation, if God permits,” yielding nonsense. The immediate
antecedent of “this” is obviously “let
us go on to perfection
[maturity].” And in phrasing it this way, he is preparing
them for the warning to follow because God may not permit it (the
advance in spiritual maturity) just as He did not permit the exodus
generation to enter into their inheritance-rest, the land of Canaan.

The Warning (6:4-6)

For it is impossible for those who
were once [once for all]
enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good Word of God
and the powers of the age to come, and have fallen away, to renew
them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves
the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

The transitional word “for,” which is
incorrectly omitted in some translations, establishes a causal link
with what the author has just said about going forward to spiritual
maturity, God permitting. What is the precise nature of this link?
It appears to refer back to the phrase “this
we will do,” i.e., “go
on to perfection [spiritual maturity].” Thus, the author explains by this
warning why it is necessary to press on to spiritual maturity. It
is because if not there is the danger of “falling away,” a condition
from which it is impossible to be renewed to repentance
[specifically, a condition from which it is impossible to “change
one’s mind” and return].

Because this warning suggests the possibility
of final apostasy of the regenerate man, strict Calvinists have
labored to demonstrate that only professing non-Christians are the
subject of the warning. Typically, their exegesis consists of an
attempt to prove that the descriptive phrases (“enlightened,”
tasted the heavenly gift,” “become partakers,” and “tasted
the good Word of God”) do not necessarily refer to regenerate
people.

Instead, they argue that they could only refer
to those exposed externally to the influence of the Gospel through
association with Christians and sitting under the preaching of the
Word of God. Yet, most commentators in the history of the Church
have found little difficulty in understanding that the components of
this warning in Hebrews are addressed to genuine Christians.

Several things are said of these people who are
capable of “falling away.” The central theme is enlightenment. The
last four phrases explain what characterizes those who have been
enlightened.” The five phrases that are all united under the word
“who,” which describes these people (6:4, 5) are as follow:

were
once enlightened

te . . . and have tasted the heavenly gift

kai . . . and have become partakers of the
Holy Spirit

kai . . . andhave tasted the good Word of God
and the powers of the age to come

kai . . .
andhave fallen away

All statements are united under the same “who”
and there is no reason for taking number 5 as conditional (i.e., “if
they fall away”) even though some translations attempt to do so.
Furthermore, whenever the Greek word te is followed by kai
. . . kai, they must all be taken the same way. In other words,
four of the five cannot be circumstantial participles but the fifth
one conditional. Therefore, it is not impossible for those
characterized by 1-4 to fall away from the faith.

Enlightened

The Greek word for enlightened is
photisthentas, a common word in the New Testament. In John
1:9 it is used of Christ as the true light who enlightens every
person that comes into the world—mostly likely a kind of general
enlightenment short of actual conversion. In Hebrews,
however, this is not likely. The addition of “once for all” or
“conclusively” (Gk. hapax) and the defining phrases that
follow indicate that the enlightenment of conversion is probably its
true meaning.

In Ephesians 1:18 the apostle Paul
applies it to Christians in his prayer for their enlightenment. The
author of Hebrews uses it of his readers’ initial reception
of the gospel: “But recall the
former days in which, after you were illuminated (enlightened), you
endured a great struggle with sufferings” (10:32).
Those who received this light are those who have confessed Christ (10:35),
who have proven their regeneration by a life of works and hope of
heaven (10:32-34), who have been sanctified (10:29),
and who possess the imputed righteousness of Christ (10:38).
In Hebrews it is used only of true conversion.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4-7 receiving the
light is used for regeneration. In 1 Peter 2:9 coming out of
darkness into light is described as conversion. Indeed, the
movement from darkness to light is a popular theme in the apostle
John’s writings for the movement from death to life, conversion (John
5:24). Jesus called Himself the light of the world (John
8:12) and said “I have come into this world so that the blind
will see” (John 9:39).

The readers of Hebrews have been
hapax photisthentas (“once for all” enlightened). The word
hapax often has a sense of finality in it. It is the opposite
of “again” (Gk. palin) in verse 6. It is used by the
writer to describe the once-for-all entrance into the Holy of Holies
by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, in contrast to the
regular and repeated entrances by the priests during the preceding
year (Hebrews 9:7). He uses it of Christ’s “once-for-all”
appearance at the end of the age to do away with sin (Hebrews
9:26) and of the finality of death that comes upon all men (9:27).
It is applied to the “once-for-all” taking away of sin by Christ’s
sacrifice (9:28). And the apostle John uses it of the faith,
which has been “once-for-all” delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

This “enlightenment’ is not merely a mental
awareness, a mere first introduction, but a “final”
enlightenment—hardly consistent with the thesis that these readers
were not born again. Furthermore, assuming that the structural
arrangement of the passage outlined above is correct, the word is
then defined in the immediate context as “tasting the heavenly gift”
and as being a “partaker of the Holy Spirit.”

Tasted the Heavenly Gift

The enlightenment is first explained as
involving a “tasting” of the heavenly gift (Gk. dorea). The
parallel with John 4:10 is noteworthy:

Jesus answered and said to her, "If
you knew the gift [Gk.
dorea] of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a
drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living
water." (John 4:10)

In every usage of dorea in the Bible it
refers to the bestowal of some divine gift, spiritual and
supernatural, given to man. In each case, unless Hebrews 6
is an exception, the receiver of this gift is either regenerate
already, or the gift itself is regeneration (John 4:10; Acts
2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17; Romans 5:15, 17; 2 Corinthians 9:15;
Ephesians 3:7; Hebrews 6:4).

Regeneration is, of course, not part of the
semantic value of the word. The precise nature of the gift must be
determined from its sense in the context of Hebrews 6—in this
case a “heavenly” gift, or a gift that comes from heaven. The gift
of God is the gift of regeneration (2 Corinthians 9:15) and
the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-46). [Reviewer’s
comment: It is notable that the gift mentioned in Ephesians 1:8
is in the Greek, “doron,” from which is derived “dorea.”]

The Greek word for “taste” is geuomai,
and it is not used by the author of Hebrews of an external
association but of an internal taste. It is not merely, as some
would indicate, only to sample but not feasted upon. On the
contrary, it includes within its compass the sense of “to eat.”

Then he became very hungry and wanted
to eat (“geuomai”) . . . . (Acts 10:10).

Now when he had come up, had broken
bread and eaten (“geuomai”) . . . . (Acts 20:11).

As newborn babes, desire the pure
milk of the word that you may grow thereby, if [sense] indeed you have tasted
(“geuomai”) that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:3)

In both biblical and secular Greek it commonly
means to eat or to “partake of” or to “join.” Eating and tasting
are synonymous terms and imply believing in Christ resulting in
regeneration and eternal life. In Hebrews 2:9 Christ tasted
death in the sense that He experienced its bitter taste to the
full. The amount consumed is not the point, but the fact of
experiencing what is eaten. The experience of tasting is not that
of those who do not know Christ but of those who have come to know
Him.

Partakers of the Holy Spirit

The second qualifier of enlightenment is that
it includes being “partakers” (Gk. metochoi) of the Holy
Spirit. This is the same word translated “partners” and used in
Hebrews 3:14 of true Christians.

In each reference in Hebrews to
metochoi truly regenerate people are in view, a few examples
follow:

1:9—they are regenerate companions
(metochoi) of the King.

3:1—they are regenerate “holy
brothers” who are partners (metochoi) in the heavenly
calling.

3:14—they are partakers (metochoi)
with Christ in the final destiny of man, ruling over the
millennial earth.

12:8—because they are true sons,
regenerate; they are partners (metochoi) in discipline.

In view of the fact that they are partakers of
the Holy Spirit and that in all other references to partakers true
Christians are in view, there is no reason here not to assume that
it means something like close partnership or true spiritual
fellowship, which is possible only to the regenerate.

Tasted the Goodness of the Word of God

The third qualifier of the word “enlighten” is
their “tasting the goodness of the Word of God.” This may be
described as a continual tasting of the Word (cf. 1 Peter 2:2, 3),
not an external taste but a consumption of it.

Tasted the Powers of the Coming Age

And the last qualifier of “enlightenment” is
the tasting of the powers of the coming age. This refers to the
miracles of the New Testament, which are a foretaste and preview of
the miraculous nature of the future kingdom of God. The ministry of
the Holy Spirit in authenticating the gospel with “powers” is
mentioned in Hebrews 2:4. The taste, just as in the tastes
above, is not superficial. It was a full taste just as Jesus tasted
death. A personal experience with the Holy Spirit is implied, not
just the observation of His performing miracles. They had
experienced personally and internally the power of God in their
lives.

While some may suggest that the people here are
contrasted with true believers later in verse 9, in actuality
the contrast is not so much between two different groups of people
as between two possibilities that may affect the same group (just as
verses 7 and 8 describe two possibilities that may
arise on the same earth).

Who Have Fallen Away

One cannot know if in fact any of the readers
had “fallen away,” but nevertheless, the author of Hebrews
warns them of this distinct danger. The Greek word used is
parapipto, which means to “fall by the wayside.” It is used
only here in the New Testament. In the papyri manuscripts it is
sometimes translated “to wander astray.”

In the LXX (Septuagint—Greek translation of the
Old Testament) it appears to have the sense of religious apostasy.
In Ezekiel it often takes the sense of turning from God to
idols (Ezekiel 14:13; 15:8; 18:24; 20:27; 22:4—LXX). This
meaning fits well with the theme of Hebrews. These believers were
considering a relapse into Judaism. Indeed, the whole book was
written to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity to Judaism
and hence to prevent precisely such a relapse. In addition, the
central sin, the sin of willful unbelief, is what is warned about in
10:26. Throughout the epistle the readers are urged to hold
fast to their confession of faith (10:23). It is the danger
of final apostasy that is in view.

The author of the epistle seems to imply that
some of his readers may already have taken this step. He writes to
warn others that they too are in danger of doing so (6:9).
He is aware, however, that the decisive act of apostasy has
precursors. It is the result of a period of hardening of heart that
crystallizes at a particular moment. It is preceded by “neglect” of
one’s great salvation, by hardness of heart (3:7-13), and by
refusal to grow (5:11-14). It is likely that the particular
reference to “going astray” in Hebrews 6 refers not to
apostasy but to the preceding hardness of heart as well.

The context has been addressing the need of the
readers to grow from infancy to maturity. The meaning, “fall away,”
must include the opposite of “going on to maturity.” As they “go
on,” as they press to that goal, there is a danger that some will
“go astray, fall away,” that they will fail to persevere. It is not
falling away from salvation referenced here; it is about wandering
from the path that leads to spiritual maturity (the progression in
the Christian life that will result in ultimate entrance into
“rest,” the achievement of the believer’s life’s work—Hebrews
4:11). It is not about falling away from a “profession of
faith.” The readers possessed true saving faith. They were
regenerate. The real concern of the epistle is that they were in
danger of failing to press on to spiritual maturity and thereby
eventually denying the faith altogether.

Later the readers are told:

Therefore do not cast away your
confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance,
so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the
promise. (Hebrews
10:35, 36)

The author of Hebrews has before his
mind the failure of the regenerate exodus generation who failed to
achieve their intended destiny, entrance into the inheritance-rest
of Canaan.

Reviewer’s comment: The exodus generation
as an analogy indicates that “salvation” was their deliverance from
slavery in Egypt, not the achievement of “rest” in Canaan.

A failure to go on to maturity typically
results in spiritual lapse, a hardened heart, and unbelief (Hebrews
3:7, 12). What is in danger is the forfeiture of their position
as one of Christ’s metochoi, those who will partake with Him
in the future reign of the servant kings.

How does one know when a believer has “gone
astray”? Some indicators follow:

Disinterest in one’s glorious future; a
sense of “drift” in one’s Christian life (Hebrews 2:2, 3).

Gradual hardness of heart associated with
unbelief resulting in turning from instead of toward the living
God (Hebrews 3:12).

Spiritual dullness sets in and there is no
evidence of spiritual growth (Hebrews 5:11).

Diminishing desire to fellowship with
other Christians (Hebrews 4:1, 2).

(If
indeed the exodus generation is the parallel, there may be the
suggestion that an “age of accountability” is involved. Only those
who were twenty years and older were in danger of the certain severe
divine judgment for this behavior pattern—Numbers 14:29).

These are only the initial symptoms. The
author of Hebrews has a deeper concern. He worries that
Christians who begin to fall away will eventually commit apostasy by
finally rejecting the faith altogether. This is his meaning when he
warns them not to throw away their “confidence” (Hebrews 10:35)
and not to “deliberately keep on sinning” (10:26). He does
not want them to take this final step and be among those who “shrink
back and are destroyed” (10:39). It seems evident from these
warnings that it is possible for true Christians to commit apostasy,
final rejection of Christ. The consequence of such an apostasy,
however, is not loss of salvation but loss of inheritance, as is
shown in the example of Esau (Hebrews 12:17). Likewise, the
readers are warned extensively through the example of Israel’s
failure to obtain “rest” in chapters 3 and 4.

The Impossibility of Renewal

For those who have “fallen away” (“gone
astray”), i.e., committed apostasy (final rejection of Christ), it
is “impossible” (Gk. adunatos) to renew them again to
repentance. The usage of adunatos (“impossible”) in other
places in Hebrews excludes the idea that it could be rendered
“very difficult”—it is impossible for God to lie (6:18),
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin (10:4),
and impossible to please God without faith (11:6).

Yet “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke
1:37) except to lie or otherwise contradict His own holiness (Hebrews
6:18). Therefore the impossibility to renew such a Christian
that has achieved a state of apostasy applies to man, i.e., the
apostate himself or any other human. When such a state is reached
by a Christian he will, like the wilderness generation, die in the
wilderness and never enter into “rest.” It must be remembered that
God “swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’”
(Hebrews 3:11). This is why the author of Hebrews
says that progression to maturity (6:1) can only continue
“God permitting” (6:3). God may not permit it. He may draw
the line and disinherit them like He did the exodus generation. But
what is the precise object of “renew”? It is “repentance.”

Reviewer’s comments: The author of the book
takes several paragraphs to express the fact that “repentance” in
this context represents the redemptive experience of faith alone
in Christ alone, which is not an uncommon usage in the New
Testament. The Greek word for repentance is “metanoia,” which
strictly means a “turning around” (180 degrees) or a “change of
mind.” Salvation (redemption/justification) repentance does not
embody the requirement of “sorrow for one’s sins;” although, this
emotion may be involved with some individuals prior to their
decision for Christ. Salvation repentance is precisely a genuine
decision within a person’s will when he turns solely to Christ and
His work on Calvary instead of (away from) any other confidence
(dead works) for his personal salvation (justification before God).

In Hebrews 6:1 the readers of the
epistle had experienced the foundation of “repentance from dead
works [any other confidence] and of faith toward God.”
In 10:23 it is said of them that they had professed hope (Gk.
elpis) or “confident expectation (true faith) in Christ. In
10:35 they are said to have “confidence” (Gk. parresia)
or “unwavering and fearless confidence of faith in their public
confession” of Christ.

In other words, these readers were truly saved
and it was this salvation experience represented by the word
“repentance” to which they would never be able to be renewed should
they achieve an apostate’s state of mind (final rejection of
Christ). The first time these people repented they changed their
mind about their sin-condition, the works-means for salvation, and
trusted Christ (God) alone for their personal salvation. Should
they become apostates, it would be impossible to restore them once
again to the state of mind where they would be willing to change
their minds about their sin of hardness (lethargy and unbelief)
while turning back in faith to Christ.

Crucifying Again the Son of God to His
Public Shame

The reason given for the impossibility of
renewal to repentance is that they crucify the Son of God and
subject Him to public shame (Hebrews 6:6). There were only
two possible interpretations of the death of Christ. He was either
crucified justly as a common criminal (the Jewish view) [Reviewer’s
comment: This would constitute a denial of Christ’s deity], or
He was crucified unjustly as the Son of God. When a Christian
denies Christ, he is in effect saying that the Jewish view is
correct. If He is not the Son of God dying for all sin, then the
only other possible conclusion was that He is a blasphemous deceiver
who received what He deserved. It is in this sense that the
apostate holds Christ up to public shame. The apostate’s life and
denial testifies that Christ was not God incarnate, was a criminal,
and His shameful death was deserved. To go this far, to finally
deny Christ, is possible for a true Christian, but the loss of his
salvation is never possible!

But why is crucifying the Son of God the reason
for the impossibility of renewal to repentance? It is possible that
the habitual and continuous aspect, which the present tense
sometimes carries, should be stressed here. The tenses of the
preceding verses were all aorist, so the unexpected switch to the
present may be intentional. They cannot be renewed to repentance
because they continually crucify the Son of God. In other words,
because they have arrived at a state of continuous and habitual sin,
they continuously and habitually shame the name of Christ by denying
His deity. The hardness associated with any continued state of sin
makes repentance psychologically and spiritually impossible.
Because of their harness they are beyond persuasion by other
Christians.

Reviewer’s
comment: Although the author of this book holds to the position
that God could still bring the apostate Christian back to
repentance, this may indeed be an impossible path for God. God
cannot go back on His Word, which in this passage reveals clearly
that it is impossible for an apostate Christian to be renewed to
repentance.

The Saved Condition of the Apostates

Before continuing the discussion of “falling
away,” it is necessary that some summary points regarding the
regenerate nature of these apostates be made, as follow:

The focus in the author’s mind is the
experience of the exodus generation in the wilderness. Just as
they failed to enter “rest,” so Christians are also in danger of
not entering by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews
4:11). The “rest” spoken of in Hebrews is not heaven
but the reward of joint participation with Messiah in the final
destiny of man. Since the analogy of the regenerate exodus
generation is in focus and since the their failure was not
forfeiture of heaven but forfeiture of their reward, there is no
reason to assume the lapsed of Hebrews 6:4-6 will forfeit
more.

It is impossible to view the believers of
verses 4-6 as unregenerate because they are being urged
to go on to spiritual maturity, as non-Christians (unregenerate
people) cannot mature in Christ. The maturity of 6:1 is
not just advanced doctrine but is defined by the reference of
5:14 as exercising spiritual discernment between good and
evil. Even if it was “advanced doctrine,” unregenerate
individuals lack spiritual ability to understand spiritual truth
(1Corinthians 2:14)—being blind (2 Corinthians 4:4)
and being dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-3).
They can hardly be expected or exhorted to advance in Bible
doctrine and spiritual discernment.

The author of Hebrews assumes the
readers to be born-again. He never asks them to examine
themselves to see if they are really Christians. Instead he
tells them that these “holy brothers” (3:1) are partners
(metochoi) of Christ only if they persevere. Being a
partner and being a Christian are not synonymous. All partners
are Christians, but not all Christians are partners. Only those
who persevere to the final hour will be partners in the
Millennial Kingdom (Hebrews 3:14).

It is exegetically questionable to detach
the descriptive references to believers in the warning context
from the warnings themselves. The immediate (and normal)
impulse is to interpret this cluster of descriptive statements
as describing regenerate persons.

The Thorn-Infested Ground (6:7, 8)

The only possible result for such behavior is
divine discipline and judgment. The author of Hebrews
explains this by an analogy from nature, as follows:

For the earth which drinks in the
rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by
whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears
thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose
end is to be burned.

(Hebrews 6:7, 8)

The “earth” refers to the individual regenerate
man, the true Christian. Two types of earth are not in view, i.e.,
one that produces a good crop and one that produces thorns. The
view here is of two differing crops that can come from the same
earth. That the “earth” represents a regenerate person is
demonstrated by the descriptive phrases applied to him in 6:1-3
(see also 6:10; 10:14, 32-34).

The “earth” (Christian) can bring into being
one of two differing types of “produce” once it receives the often
coming rain, e.g., a life of perseverance in good works (herbs
useful for those by whom it is cultivated) or a wasted
life of thorns and briars. The rain refers to the influence by the
Holy Spirit and the Word of God upon the believer. In sum, the rain
points back to the four blessings described in Hebrews 6:1-3.
Furthermore, the earth “drank” these blessings. The difference is
not in drinking or not drinking but in the kinds of produce that
resulted from the drinking. There is no picture of the rain simply
falling on the surface and not sinking into it. It would be
difficult to find a clearer picture of saving faith. These people
not only were enlightened and were partakers of the Holy Spirit and
recipients of the heavenly gift, but they drank and absorbed it.

The word “drink” (Gk. pino) is commonly
used elsewhere of saving faith (John 4:13; 6:54; 7:37, 38).
These “holy brothers” who are in danger of apostasy have all drunk
of the water of life (i.e., believed), and on the authority of Jesus
will be raised on the last day. The fact that drinking and
receiving water elsewhere means regeneration further substantiates
the interpretation above that “enlightenment” is not mere “mental
perception” but “rebirth.”

The crop is useful to God, the “owner.”
However, the same earth may not produce this useful crop. It may
also produce “thorns.” It is clear that the author of Hebrews
does not believe that a life of perseverance is the necessary and
inevitable result of regeneration. The Lord taught the same thing
in the parable of the soils. The final three soils all represent
regenerate people as proven by the fact that even the one with no
root did grow and hence manifest regenerate life. But two of the
three did not produce fruit.

When the earth produces a good crop, it
receives blessing from God. This blessing is to be understood as
divine approval, the believer’s entrance into “rest” (Hebrews
4:11), the receiving of eternal rewards and various unspecified
temporal blessings as well. The only other use in Hebrews is
of Esau forfeiting his inheritance (Hebrews 12:17). That
seems to confirm the interpretation that the blessing from God is
reward at the judgment seat of Christ. As demonstrated elsewhere,
the inheritance-rest of Hebrews, indeed the inheritance in
the New Testament, is always, when conditioned on obedience, a
reward in heaven and not heaven itself.

But strict Calvinists insist it is not possible
for the same soil to bring forth both a good and a bad crop. It can
only bring forth one or the other. But this contradicts statements
in other parts of the epistle. These regenerate people had produced
a “crop” of patience in suffering and commendable good works (10:32-34).
But some had also produced the “crop” of dullness and spiritual
lethargy (5:11-14), some of these “brothers” are in danger of
hardness of heart (3:12), and many have stopped meeting
together with other Christians (10:25). The same earth that
produced a crop of perseverance in patience also produces a crop of
initial righteousness that then may fall into transgression. That
is the whole point of the book.

Reviewer’s comment: The author then takes
several paragraphs explaining how strict Calvinists, which he calls
“Experimental Predestinarians,” attempt to go outside of Hebrews
(Matthew 7:16, 18; James 3:11) to prove that the same
regenerate heart cannot produce righteousness for awhile and then
fall into unrighteousness. His refutations of their arguments may
be found in detail in his book.

If the heart of the regenerate man produces
thorns, three phrases describe his uselessness to God. He is “rejected,”
“near to being cursed,” and “whose end is to be burned.”
Each phrase is considered in turn:

Rejected: The Greek word is
adokimos and it means “disqualified” or “useless.”
Strict Calvinists prefer the translation, “spurious,” which,
while possible, supplies no opposite for the “useful” of verse
7. The opposite of “useful” is not “false” or “spurious”
but “useless” or “worthless.” The point is that as thorny
ground the earth and its produce are useless to the farmer.
That Christians can lead useless lives and fail to finish their
work is the central warning of the epistle. The exodus
generation was not unregenerate but useless. They never
accomplished the task of conquering Canaan in spite of the many
blessings God poured upon them.

Paul used the word of
himself in 1 Corinthians 9:27 when he said that his goal was
that at the end of life he would not be found “disqualified (adokimos)
for the prize.” As discussed elsewhere (the discussion under 2
Corinthians 13:5), Paul does not doubt the security of his
salvation. He is burdened about finishing his course and receiving
his reward. Similarly, the believer who produces thorns in
Hebrews 6 is not subject to damnation, but his disobedient life
will disqualify him at the judgment seat and will make him useless
for the purposes of God in the present.

Near to being cursed: It is
possible but unlikely that the curse refers back to Genesis 3.
There the thorns were a result of the curse, but here the curse
is a result of thorns. A safe interpretation is in line with
the Jewish background of the readers where in Deuteronomy
28-30 Moses taught that obedience resulted in temporal
blessing and disobedience resulted in temporal cursing (29:22-28;
30:15-30). This reference directs the reader back once
again to the temporal curse that fell upon the exodus
generation’s hardships and physical death. That God sometimes
brings this judgment on His children is taught elsewhere in this
epistle (Hebrews 12:5-11), and the sin unto physical
death is taught throughout the New Testament (1 Corinthians
5:5; 11:30; 1 John 5:16, 17, James 5:19, 20).

While the immediate
reference is to divine discipline in time, the author of Hebrews
probably has the future consequences of this cursing in mind as
well. He often speaks of the need to persevere and hence receive
reward (10:36; 11:6, 10, 15, 16, 26) and has this thought in
view in the immediate context when he says, “. . . but imitate
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews
6:12). Conversely, those who do not persevere in faith and
patience will be cursed, i.e., be disinherited like Esau was (12:17).
The cursing does not refer to loss of salvation.

Whose end is to be burned:
The antecedent of “it” in verse 8 is the “earth” of verse
7. It is the earth that is in danger of being burned.
This may refer to a purifying rather than a destroying fire,
which would be consistent with a common agricultural practice of
the day. When a field was overgrown with weeds and thorns, it
was customary to burn it in order to cleanse the field and
restore its fertility. If this is the meaning, then the result
of the apostate’s denial is severe divine discipline with a
corrective intent. Justification for this might be found in
Hebrews 12:5-11.

But the purifying
intent is doubtful here. The parallel of the exodus generation’s
failure and their destruction in the wilderness is the controlling
thought of the warnings. It is impossible to renew them to
repentance. So the burning is, first of all, divine judgment in
time. This is the thought of 10:27 where the author speaks
of the “raging fire that will consume the enemies of God”—this will
be covered in the next chapter and proven that it refers to judgment
in time and not the eternal judgment of hell.

Elsewhere is recorded
the burning of the believer’s dead works at the judgment seat of
Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-15), with negative as well as
positive consequences that will accrue to believers at that time (2
Corinthians 5:10). So it is not without scriptural parallel if
the interpretation of this passage is from that perspective. The
burning of the believer then would be a metonymy for the burning of
the believer’s works.

This would help
explain the statement that in “whose end” the works of the
unfaithful believer (the produce of the field) will be “burned.”
There is no reference to hell here but rather, to the burning up of
the believer’s life-works at the judgment seat of Christ. Even
though the fire consumes his house of wood, hay, and stubble (=
“earth,” metonymy for “thorns and thistles,” in Hebrews 6:8),
yet this carnal Christian “will be saved, but only as one escaping
through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Consolation and Encouragement (6:9-12)

Having warned them, the author’s pastor-heart
now emerges, and he turns to consolation in Hebrews 6:9-12.
He is confident that their lives are characterized by the better
things that accompany salvation. Salvation in Hebrews, as
discussed elsewhere (see chapter 4), refers not to final deliverance
from hell, which is based upon faith alone, but to the future
participation in the rule of man (Hebrews 1:14; 2:5) and
which is conditioned upon obedience (cf. Hebrews 5:9). The
inheritance they will obtain refers not to heaven, which is theirs
through faith alone, but to their reward in heaven, which only comes
to those “who through [“by means of”] faith and patience inherit
what has been promised” (Hebrews 6:12). Since the “promise”
in Hebrews usually refers to the millennium (e.g., 4:1;
6:13, 15; 7:6; 11:9, 11, 13, 17; 12:26), to “inherit the
promise” means to rule in the Millennial Kingdom and parallels the
phrase “inherit the kingdom,” which does not mean merely entering
the kingdom but to own it and rule there.

Conclusion

There is no reference in Hebrews 6 to
either a falling away from salvation or perseverance in holiness.
Rather, this is a warning to true believers concerning the possible
loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ and temporal
discipline in time. This passage is a dreadful warning to those
with a hardened heart, but it is not a passage to apply to the
persevering Christian who is “in the battle.”